This invention relates to a tool or adapter that permits a winch to be wound quickly and conveniently using a conventional rotary power tool or hand crank.
Flat bed trucks and other industrial and commercial vehicles often employ one or more straps for securing the load to be hauled in the bed of the vehicle. Typically, each strap is wound on a standard winch mechanism mounted to the bottom or side of the vehicle bed. The winch employs a ratchet and a cam that is selectively disengaged from the ratchet so that the strap may be pulled across and engaged with the load. When the desired length of strap is deployed, the cam is re-engaged with the ratchet to prevent the strap from further unwinding. After the vehicle has completed its trip, the strap, is disengaged from the load and wound back onto the winch. The cam and the ratchet are configured so that the cam rides over the ratchet while the strap is being re-wound.
Rewinding the loading strap onto the winch is typically a very tedious and time consuming task. The worker manually grasps and turns the end of the spindle that projects axially from the side of the winch opposite the ratchet. For winches used in standard industrial flat bed trucks, approximately 40 turns of the spindle are required to fully wind the strap back onto the winch. This effort is compounded considerably because most trucks employ a pair of winch mounted fastening straps. When a number of vehicles are involved in a delivery, the manpower required to rewind all of the straps can be considerable. This not only adds time and expense to a job, it can be extremely wearisome for the driver or other worker to perform the rewinding.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a tool that permits a winch and winch mounted strap to be rewound quickly and conveniently with virtually little or no effort.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a tool that permits the fastening or loading straps on an industrial vehicle to be rewound with either a standard rotary power tool such as an electric or pneumatic wrench or drill, or a conveniently operated hand crank.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a tool that permits a winch to be rewound using much less manpower, time and effort then has heretofore been required.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a tool for rewinding a winch that is much less tedious and time consuming for workers to use and which allows the winch to be rewound much more efficiently.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a tool for rewinding a winch that may be driven by a wide variety of power tools including power wrenches and drills.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a tool for rewinding a winch that is extremely simple to install and operate.
This invention features a power driven tool or adapter for winding a standard winch. The winch for which this tool is used includes a yoke and a generally tubular spindle mounted rotatably in the yoke. The spindle includes a central opening and pair of generally opposed apertures formed radially in the circumferential surface of the spindle. An elongate strap or other flexible component is wound on the spindle. An inner portion of the strap or other flexible component extends through the generally opposed apertures of the spindle and across the central opening. At least one end of the spindle is open such that the central opening of the spindle is exposed. The tool of this invention includes an elongate body portion connected to and extending from a head portion. The body portion includes a slot formed longitudinally therein. The head portion carries means for lockably and releasably interengaging a standard rotary driven power apparatus such as an electric or pneumatic wrench or drill. The elongate body of the adapter tool is introduced into the central opening of the winch spindle such that the longitudinal slot of the body portion receives the inner portion of the flexible component extending across the central opening. The rotary driven power tool is operated to axially rotate the elongate body. The body engages the inner portion of the flexible element, which drives the spindle rotatably. As a result, the flexible component is wound onto the spindle.
In a preferred embodiment, the elongate body has a generally tubular shape. The longitudinal slot in the body portion may include a generally parallel pair of slotted portions that communicate with an axial opening formed through the body portion. The means for lockably and releasably interengaging may include a driver receptacle formed in the head portion. The driver receptacle may communicate with the axial opening formed to the body portion. The driver receptacle preferably has a square shape. Typically, a complementary shaped driver component (e.g. a square drive) is attached to and driven rotatably by the rotary driven power apparatus. The drive component is inserted into and thereby lockably interengaged with the driver receptacle in the head portion of the winch winding tool. When the power driver is operated, the drive component rotates the head portion and thereby axially rotates the elongate body portion of the adapter tool. This causes the engaged flexible component and spindle to be wound as previously described.
In alternative embodiments a different type of lockable interengagement may be employed. For example, the head portion may carry a square or other shaped driver and a socket may be interengaged with that component and driven by the rotary driven power apparatus.
The invention also features a winch winding tool adapted to be rotatably driven by a hank crank that is permanently or releasably connected to the tool. This version of the tool is constructed analogously to the tool set forth above and includes a receptacle, lug, universal joint or some other means for interconnecting the tool either permanently or releasably to a hand crank. A universal joint connector may also be employed to interconnect the adapter tool to a rotary power apparatus.